Final Destination: Konoha
by DeejKakashi
Summary: When a tragic accident nearly wipes out a large group, the survivors consider themselves lucky... until they start dying one by one. It's up to Kakashi and the other survivors to unlock the mystery and save themselves before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1: A Visit From An Old Friend

**Chapter 1**

_"Tssshhh... Tssshhh... Tssshhh..." _

_The footsteps made a noise like sandpaper as the sound echoed through the hollow cavern. Kakashi walked slowly, cautiously through the dark passageway. He recognized all of it... but it seemed from so long ago, and the darkness seemed to envelop everything. Sweat droplets trickled over the shiny metal of his headband plate adjusted over his forehead, which was odd considering it usually was tilted sideways to conceal his left eye..._

_"Heh..." a small laugh, muffled by the navy blue mask hiding his face, escaped his mouth as he thought that over again. "His" eye. The stalagmites and stalactites of the cave reflected an electric blue light that was emitted from Kakashi's right hand. He had found himself in darkness and quickly used a condensed version of Chidori (his signature move) to illuminate the cavern as best he could without wasting too much chakra. The light had proven not enough, forcing him to reveal the crimson iris from underneath his headband. It reflected the blue-tinged light, turning it an odd shade of deep purple..._

_The Sharingan..._

_He had laughed because it was not "his" eye at all... he was not born an Uchiha. He had acquired it in the worst of ways. Kakashi had lost an eye on a mission at the age of 13, but surprisingly that was not the worst part of it. His comrade, Obito Uchiha, had pushed him out of the way of impending death... sacrificing himself. As he lay dying on the damp brown rock of the cave he had given Kakashi a parting gift... with the help of Rin he had acquired the Sharingan..._

_Suddenly Kakashi's eyes went wide. A cave? THIS cave... that's where he had recognized it from! For the first time in 13 years, Kakashi felt fear. He had vowed never to come back to the cave again... it held so many bad memories... so much guilt... They had never been able to recover Obito's body. Although Kakashi visited the memorial that represented the Uchiha every day... he knew his body still lay rotting in the depths of the mountain..._

_"Kakashi... " _

_Kakashi jumped. A whisper, like the sound of dead leaves echoed through the cavern. _

_"I didn't hear that... I didn't hear that... I didn't hear that..." Kakashi tried to tell himself he was hearing things, the electric blue light going out as he covered his ears with his leather clad hands..._

_"Kakashi... "_

_The voice seemed louder this time. "How is that possible?!" he frantically asked himself. He removed his hand from his ears and tried to charge the Chidori again... but to no avail! His chakra felt as if it were being sapped... by his eye! He wasn't controlling it! Yet, he started to see better... an ominous deep blue light... coming from a smaller cavern to the right..._

_"Kakashi... "_

_He wanted nothing more than to run in the opposite direction, but his body no longer obeyed his wishes. It walked slowly, as if drawn, toward the deep cerulean glow... "Nooo!!!" He screamed feebly in his head trying to force himself to turn around! To escape! But to no avail, as his feet moved him robotically through the cavern entrance..._

_"Kakashi... give it baaaaccckk..."_

_The light illuminated the silhouette... a dark shadow of a figure... Kakashi's Sharingan which had now betrayed him began sucking more chakra from his body, causing him to be able to see the figure slowly approaching him... _

_"No...no... it can't be you! You're dead! It can't be..." Kakashi gave a frightened gasp as the figure came closer... as he stared into the rotting face... of Obito Uchiha._

_His orange goggles tilted sideways, cracked, off of the loose green-tinged skin. Patches of white shown where his skin had been torn away on his forehead and cheekbones. Dark black hair, dry as straw, stuck out at the top of his head in patches as Kakashi stared at Obito's empty right socket... _

_Kakashi fell backward on to the cave floor, ripping the black leather of his gloves as he stared upward at his reanimated fallen comrade. He realized Obito's remaining eye was glowing a deep crimson and his own Sharingan could not look away from it. His body was completely immobile, as if he were hypnotized by a gigantic serpent. Sweat poured from his silver hair as his face took on a frightened look._

_"Now... Kakashi... you will give it baaacck..." _

_An evil grimace crossed Obito's face as he pulled a rusty dented kunai from behind his back and leaned closer to Kakashi..._

_"Obito... no... please... why?" Tears rolled down his cheek from his own eye, as the Sharingan remained inactive. _

_Obito's only response was the grimace as he leaned the tip of the kunai toward the bottom of Kakashi's eye socket and the world was enveloped in black..._

_(Wednesday, 6:58 A.M.)_

"GAAAAHHH!!!"

Kakashi sat up quickly, disturbing the tranquil silence of his apartment. Deep gasps escaped his mouth, causing his chest to grow and shrink from the lung activity. His normally light silver hair was a deep gray as it was dripping with sweat...

"Dammit..." he cursed, tossing a pillow across the room knocking over a picture frame set by the window. It fell making a soft thud on the tan carpet. He buried his face in his hands, rubbing his forehead, trying to force the nightmare from his mind. Would he never get a good night's rest again?

He had had the same dream 7 nights in a row now... a whole week... and it was always the same. Tsunade had said it was a result of stress and guilt over his fallen comrade. He had denied any guilt, telling her it must all be stress induced, but he had a feeling she knew better. She had seen him visit Obito's memorial with a single white lily, once a week, every week since she had arrived in Konoha. He _did _feel guilt. Why had Obito pushed him out of the way... the fool... he was the one who should have lived... and now today had come. The 13th anniversary of Obito's death...

Kakashi gave a deep sigh, falling back on his remaining pillow and staring up at the ceiling. The room was slowly being filtered with morning light causing his creamy white ceiling to become a light shade of blue. Kakashi closed his eyes for a second, cringing at the hue, raising his right hand up to eyes rubbing them with his thumb and index finger. A small chuckle escaped his lips. Here he was, an elite jounin of Konoha, 26 years old... becoming frightened of a COLOR from a NIGHTMARE...

He sat up quickly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, clad only in a pair of orange boxers (a rare pair he had acquired from Jiraiya, commemorating the "Icha Icha" series). He scratched his chest letting out a slow yawn, stood up walking still with jelly-legs from his narcoleptic state and stalked toward the bathroom. He looked sideways into the mirror and Obito's eye stared back, almost accusingly. "It wasn't my fault..." he muttered to no one, as he tossed his boxers to the corner and turned the left faucet of his shower clockwise. He tested the water a few times with his hand to make sure he wouldn't burn or freeze his ass off before he slowly stepped in letting the warm water soothe his aching shoulders.

He rose both of his muscular arms scrubbing the sweat out of his silver hair with some strawberry-scented shampoo, as he tried to distract his thoughts from the bad dream and focus on the tasks of the oncoming day. Tsunade had instructed that each team had to be trained in wilderness survival to get used to their surroundings and become better shinobi. She had ordered Team 8 (Kurenai Yuuhi, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga), Team 10 (Asuma Sarutobi, Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara) and Team 7 (Himself, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno) along with a few Special Jounin on a mission to the mountains for a couple of days. Away from the safeties of the village each team would learn how to, as Tsunade had coined the phrase, "rough it".

Kakashi smiled a bit as he thought over the day to come, scrubbing a bit more before letting the water pour over his head, flooding the bathtub floor with the white lather. He didn't want to be in Konoha today anyway... it was too painful. Luckily they were headed in the OPPOSITE direction of the cavernous hell from his dreams...

"Ohhh OW! Ahhh..."

Kakashi cried out in pain as his left eye emitted a sharp pain. He quickly rubbed it with his left knuckle, supporting himself by leaning with his other hand against the tile wall. Red dots blurred his vision as he tried to rub the pain out, the shower water propelling off his back, spattering against the walls as he leaned over in agony. He cringed for a moment more... and then the pain was gone. As quickly as it had come.

He quickly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wiping the condensation off the mirror in order to get a good look at his eye. "AAAHH!" Blood! He closed his eyes quickly and looked again. No. No blood... it must have been a trick of the light. Obito's eye stared back at him through the scarred socket. He laughed nervously as he wrapped himself in a yellow terry-cloth towel to remove the moisture from his body. He was obviously spooked! Scaring himself! First the pain... it had probably been caused by the shampoo... although he'd never remembered shampoo hurting so much. He'd have to buy a different brand. Then the reflection... trick of the light. He nodded and stared at his reflection, which was becoming blurry once again from the remaining condensation in the air. "Stop scaring yourself..." he told it. Then he walked out of the room to get dressed.

The bathroom door opened and steam rolled into the room like a descending cloud. Kakashi stepped out in the buff and pulled on another pair of boxers (red this time) and headed toward the chair he threw his clothes on when he went to bed. The sun had risen more, causing the room to take on a more yellow hue as he stared out the window.

"Thunk!"

He stubbed his toe on something and looked down. It was the picture he had knocked down earlier... he groaned as he picked it up staring at the glass. It was the photo of him and his team, Naruto and Sasuke casting glares at each other as Sakura looked eager to just be there and himself in the background putting his hands in Sasuke and Naruto's hair looking as if he were trying to make sure they wouldn't pounce and attack each other. He scowled as he looked at the newfound crack in the glass across the frame. Sasuke's face had a big crack across it. He sighed... he'd have to purchase a new one when he came back. How had it cracked anyway? It was hit with a pillow and he had heard no sound as it had fallen dully on the carpet. Weak glass? Ehh... he didn't have time for that this morning though. Everyone was meeting at the gates in an hour...

He set the picture back on the window sill, the rising sun glinting off the silver frame, as he pulled on his navy blue pants and shirt. He stared out the window as he pulled on his olive-green vest and thought of Obito... 13 years ago today... he let out a long sigh as he pulled his black leather gloves on. When he was fully dressed from the neck down he pulled on his mask, hiding his face from the world once more. Tying his head band tightly, the knot nestled in the back of his now dry silver hair, he stared in the mirror at Obito's eye again. Glaring at it a bit, he pulled the headband down to conceal it again. To hide his guilt. He then pulled on a tan backpack full of survival necessities, snatched a familiar orange novel from his bedside table and left his usual unconventional way by flinging the window open and hopping out into the warm morning air. He turned around slamming it shut and locking it with a chakra seal and then hopped over the rooftops for a quick stop before he set out... (Wednesday, 7:42 A.M.)

(Wednesday, 9:26 A.M.)

"Kakashi-Sensei! You're late again!!!"

Sakura's voice shrilled across the bridge as Kakashi landed softly on the wooden planks. He stared sheepishly at the whole of Team 7: Sakura fuming at his tardiness, her cheeks turning a shade of red. Naruto, looking just as angry and hyperactive to leave. Sasuke, slouching against the railing thinking of better things to do...

He sighed, placing his right hand behind his head and uttered another phrase he had come to say over the past year. "I'm sorry Sakura... I realized my shoe was untied halfway here and ended up buying new laces..."

"YOU DON'T EVEN WEAR SHOELACES!!!" She yelled. "Kakashi, they expected us at the gates 27 minutes ago! We've got to move!"

Naruto looked up at this and grinned, all anger leaving his face. "Finally! We can leave! I've been itching for some action, dattebayo!"

Sasuke shrugged and started walking slowly toward the gate, indifferent to the world.

Kakashi watched the three make their different ways toward the entrance as he took on a slow pace. His fellow jounin would expect his tardiness, after all, they'd grown with him. He knew they'd forgive him on this day of all days so he was in no rush. Time was his anyway as far as he was concerned. He sighed looking up at the sky as a few birds rushed from the trees overhead from Naruto hopping through the limbs. He looked wearily ahead at the group awaiting him and hiked up his pack on his shoulders. He was alive today. Obito had given that gift to him and it would be selfish to not live life to the fullest. No matter what he would make this day one of the best he had ever lived, even if it killed him!


	2. Chapter 2: A Long Morning

**Chapter 2**

(Wednesday, 9:31 A.M.)

"Asuma-Sensei, how much longer do we have to wait out here?"

The bearded Jounin opened one eye lazily staring up at the young blonde kunoichi. Ino was irritated and seemed to always have a knack for showing it. Asuma sighed inwardly, propped up only by lying against one of the gigantic support beams to the entrance gate.

"Ino, we'll get started when everyone is present. In the meantime rest a bit. We all had to wake up earlier than usual anyway..."

She scoffed, folding her arms in an impatient sort of way. "Figures Billboard-Brow's team would be late anyway. Probably waiting for her to put on all that make-up so her forehead doesn't shine. I'm sure Sasuke-kun would've been here hours before if . . . and then . . . so . . . . . "

Asuma tuned her out, exhaling a long trail of bluish-gray smoke from his cigarette as he stared upward at the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day at least. He turned sideways and chuckled a bit, spying Shikamaru copying his posture against the other support beam. It figured. the kid was lazy as hell, but an undiscovered genius. An untapped resource for Konoha. He scratched his beard and returned his gaze to Ino, so as not to be rude, and pretended to be highly interested in her mundane chatter.

". . . and she's SOOO ugly. I don't know why she'd EVER think Sasuke-kun would even show the SLIGHTEST interest in her..."

"WHAT WAS THAT INO-PIG?!"

Both of his hazel eyes opened, and he smirked as he sat up putting out the cigarette butt in the brown dust that surrounded him. A cat-fight? Over the Uchiha kid? He watched the two kunoichi cast death glares at eachother, tension building, eyes twitching. He stood up in case he had to hold Ino back and watched as Naruto landed from a nearby tree standing behind Sakura.

"Come on Sakura! You can kick her butt! Just like you did in the Chunnin exams!"

"THAT WAS A TIE!" Ino screeched, fists clenched with rage.

But all tension was broken as Sasuke entered the clearing at a casual pace with the usual "not really interested" look on his face. Asuma smirked as both Sakura and Ino did a complete personality change, swooning in a chorus of "Helloooo Sasuke-kunnn" Naruto made a disgusted face as if he'd just eaten week-old macaroni. Sasuke looked indifferent to their calls of hello and walked silently toward the gate, staring toward the forest. Shikamaru walked casually up to his Sensei and whispered.

"Do we REALLY have to deal with this for a week? Sasuke and his fan club are very troublesome..."

"Yes we do Shikamaru." Asuma nodded, pulling another cigarette from his vest. "The Hokage has ordered it and we must follow orders... no matter how troublesome they are..." He gave Shikamaru a wink as he lit up the end of the cigarette with a jutsu he had learned for breathing small amounts of fire. He then stuck it in his mouth and watched as Kakashi unintentionally copied Sasuke and walked slowly into the clearing.

Shikamaru whispered again "What's eatin' him?"

Asuma shrugged with a worried expression on his face. "I don't know... but I'm going to find out." The others, having seen all of Team 7 arrive, all stood up and began to gather their things for the journey. Asuma approached the defeated looking Jounin warily and put a massive hand on his right shoulder. "Kakashi are you alright? You don't look as... energetic... this morning." He offered a small smile.

Kakashi's lazy gaze met Asuma's and he began to speak.

"Hey Asuma... yeah I'm fine... I just had a rough morning." Kakashi smiled, and even though it was covered by navy blue fabric Asuma could tell it wasn't authentic. "Well why don't you tell me about it?" Asuma asked. "We've been friends for a long time and if you ever need to talk about anything I'm here for you..."

Kakashi was hesitant... he didn't really want to tell Asuma about his dream... or the hallucinations. It was nothing to worry about right? Right? He felt more like he was asking himself that... things just had seemed off that morning... perhaps it _was_ a good idea to tell someone...

"Well Asuma, it's just I don't know... this the 13th anniversary of Obi---"

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?! WE'RE READY TO HEAD OUT! COME ON!!!"

Anko Mitarashi came to stand between the two Jounin, her brown coat flapping in the wind as if she were some tan bird. "Kakashi, we were supposed to set out about 40 minutes ago and thanks to you the mission is jeopardized!!! It may be nightfall by the time we reach our destination now!"

Kakashi looked downward, with a kind of defeated look and muttered "I...I'm sorry..."

Asuma looked toward the violet-haired kunoichi. "Awww c'mon Anko, give the guy a break... he's had a rough morning..."

"And he'll have a rough rest of the day too if we don't head out now!" Anko gave Asuma a steady glare and started walking back toward the gates along with the rest of the group.

Asuma shifted his backpack on his shoulder, easing it a bit so as not to cut off circulation. He looked to Kakashi and muttered "Geez is it that time of the month already?" chuckling.

WHAP!

Red spots flooded the Jounin's vision as he rubbed the back of his black-spiked hair. He turned his head glaring. "Hey who the... what was that for?!"

Kurenai Yuuhi gave him a steady glare. "That comment was uncalled for! Don't be so sexist! A woman can be angry when she's not on her period!"

"But moreso when she's on it." Asuma smiled, wrapping his fingers in hers. "Aww c'mon Kurenai I was just joking. Kakashi seems a little down. I thought it might lighten him up!"

Kurenai looked over at Kakashi with a concerned look. "You ok Kakashi? You do look a little under the weather today... at least I think you do. That mask hides everything."

Kakashi offered pity laughter for their jokes. He didn't want to be rude, but he just wasn't in the mood for comedy today. "Well that comes with the uniform... "

Asuma laughed a bit too hard, his cigarette falling to the ground. "Ahhh damn. Now I have to light up another one..." Kurenai glared "Oh NO you don't. We're trying to have a baby right now and the last thing I need is the essence of your cancer sticks!" Asuma gave a pained look but accepted defeat... for the moment. "Well Kakashi if you need to talk we got all week! This is going to be a long walk... so if just talk about it when you feel the need, yeah?" Kurenai nodded in agreement with Asuma, standing close to his massive build. Kakashi looked into both of his friend's eyes and nodded in agreement. It was nice to know people cared...

"And don't thing YOU'RE off the hook for that period comment! See how far you get with me today Mr. Sarutobi." She quickly unlatched from him and walked swiftly ahead, rejoining with Anko. Asuma let out a lame "Hey..." as she left, then looked back to Kakashi smirking "Women!" He then jogged ahead to try to beg for forgiveness...

Kakashi DID laugh at this, and it felt good. He needed a good laugh. He thought he could shrug this dark ominous monkey off his back by this time, but it seemed to be latched on. He figured it had probably set up house until the day was over, considering what day it was. The funny thing was it had never lasted this long. He was usually able to set his mind to other things (usually the Icha-Icha books he carried around so often. They were an excellent distraction) but today something seemed off... as if he were experiencing deja vu but it hadn't quite happened yet. "Uggh... I should start eating breakfast more often..." he mumbled to no one in particular and continued trailing behind the others at a leisurely pace.

(Wednesday, 10:53 A.M.)

Kakashi lugged his hefty pack, which felt as if it gained 2 pounds by the minute, as he finally leveled off from his upward climb. His party had reached the foothills, and now they were edging along an old path along the mountainside, looking over the wilderness. He paused for a second to take it all in, trying to spot Konoha within the woods far below, but to no avail. It's many jutsu's had proven strong as there was no sign of the Village Hidden In The Leaves.

Naruto had noticed his Sensei's lack of enthusiasm and had slowed down from the others to try and chat with him, and perhaps cheer him up. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't exactly a therapist so the conversation was entirely one-sided and mostly consisted of subjects such as ramen, becoming Hokage and how to defeat Sasuke once and for all. Kakashi replied with unenthusiastic "uh huh" 's and kept mulling over his awful nightmare and his guilt over Obito... and the odd feeling that still had not left him. It was still there... and felt stronger than ever, as if it were amplifying the closer he got to... he got to what? What was coming?

". . . and then Sasuke will cry because I'll be the one getting all the attention! You hear me Kakashi-Sensei? Are you even listening, tebayo?!"

"What? OH... yes, sorry Naruto." He gave a weak smile.

"Kakashi-Sensei... are you sure you're alright? You're acting awfully strange... what's bugging you? You're not even annoyed at my usual conversation..." Naruto, put one hand behind his blonde hair and gave a nervous laugh.

Kakashi chuckled. "I'll be alright... I think I'm just overstressing myself over things that shouldn't matter... your sensei is silly that way."

Naruto nodded solemnly (a rare occurance) and spoke. "Well Kakashi-Sensei if you ever need to tal---"

AAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!

Kakashi's eye went wide "That was Sakura's scream..."

The group had disappeared from view from rounding a corner on the ridge. Both shinobi sprinted to save their comrade... what danger had befallen them now?


	3. Chapter 3: A Vision

**Chapter 3**

_"Give it baaaaackk..."_

The disturbing line from Kakashi's recurring dream echoed through his mind as he raced ahead, his black leather sandals kicking up small clouds of dust. Naruto emitted shallow gasps, panting as he ran with all his might, racing beside his sensei with a determined look on his face. Kakashi glanced sideways at his young student, and just as they were rounding the ridge, the Sharingan twitched like it has never twitched before.

"Aaaggghhh!!!"

The silver-haired jounin fell to the ground, writhing in pain as his eye spun wildly in it's socket. "Sensei!!!" Naruto let out a shout as Kakashi fell backward and the world faded quickly to black...

(Wednesday, 11:06 A.M.)

"--ka-hi..."

"Ka-ash-..."

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

"Ooof!" The jounin let out a groan as he sat up. "Ohhh... my head..." He ran his gloved right hand through the silver tuft that was his scalp, feeling a good-sized bump. That was going to sting for a while...

"Oh good! I knew he'd wake up if I jumped on him!"

The blond genin jumped off Kakashi's chest as he stood up. Asuma grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet as Anko gave him a stern glare.

"You ok there Kakashi?" Asuma gave him a worried look through his dark hazel eyes, cigarette askew, like some weird bearded chain-smoking mother figure. Kakashi smiled a bit at the thought of Asuma in a pink apron armed with a feather duster, as he put a hand on Asuma's shoulder.

"I'm alright Sarutobi-san... the heat must have gotten to me." he sputtered out the lie, hoping his fellow jounin would buy it. He didn't feel like explaining anything about his ocular problems any time soon. They'd think he was crazy... probably send him home. He didn't want to leave all of them because he was "whining". He had a little more self-respect than that, being an elite jounin and all...

"Well I HOPE you're alright Hatake! This is the second time you've delayed this mission! Now hydrate yourself with some water and keep up with the group!" Anko shoved a canteen full of water into the olive green fabric of Kakashi's jounin vest and stalked off trying to gather the other shinobi who had decided to stop and take refuge from the rising sun under the overhanging ridge.

Asuma bit his cigarette through gritted teeth. "I'm tellin' you man...that time of the month" Kakashi laughed a bit. "Aren't you worried Kurenai will hear you?" He untwisted the cap to the canteen, handing it first to Asuma who began taking a large swig of water---- and spitting it out immediately. "UGGGHHHH what's wrong with this water?!"

The bearded jounin took the canteen and dumped the contents onto the ground. A frothy white mixture poured out onto the ground, filling the area with a rancid stench. Asuma looked a little green and disappeared behind a rock, to "rid the problem". Naruto walked up with a hand behind his head.

"Heh..."

Kakashi gave Naruto a knowing look. "Meant for Anko?"

Naruto nodded quickly.

"Rotten milk?"

"It was short-notice! It was all I could come up with!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Wait!" His visible eye widened and he started looking from side to side. "I just remembered! What was wrong with Sakura? Why was she screaming?"

Once again, Naruto gave a nervous laugh and looked downward. "I kind of... put a rubber snake... in her pack... they stopped at the ridge to rest and she opened her pack... and..."

"End of story?"

"Yeah." Naruto sat on a nearby rock, and his sensei joined him overlooking the valley that held their home. The genin looked up at his sensei "Kakashi-sensei..."

"I'm fine Naruto..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" He said a little sharply, causing Naruto to jump back a bit. Feeling immediately bad for this, he gave Naruto a smile with his eye and responded with "I just... got a little tired is all. I'm a little high-strung today. Plus now this bump..."

Naruto looked downward, nodding silently. "While you were knocked out... you were screaming about your eye. And Obito... who is that Kakashi? None of the jounin would tell us..."

He looked away quickly, emotions running through his brain and body like an electrical storm. "I..." He sighed. He might as well tell him anyway... "Obito was---"

"ALL RIGHT GUYS! TIME TO MOVE!"

Anko's voice rang over the ridge, alerting the group and causing them to stand. Asuma emerged from behind the rock, looking a little less green and a bit exhausted. He wiped some remaining "breakfast" out of his beard and stumbled toward Kakashi and leaned on his shoulder. "Uggghhh, I'm going to KILL whoever rigged Anko's canteen..."

"Well, catch up with me later Sensei!" Naruto jumped up and sprinted toward the group. Kakashi gave a small chuckle, helping to support Asuma. "Come on now big guy, a little sour milk going to slow you down?"

"I knew I should've made you drink it first..."

Kakashi laughed at this statement as they hobbled around another corner of the ridge.

And there it was...

It was a humungous wooden bridge, about 2000 feet off the ground. Looking down, made Kakashi dizzy as he neared it. Anko stood at the bridge entrance guiding people onto the bridge. Shikamaru dashed backward looking at his hobbling Sensei. "Asuma-Sensei are you alright?" He looked a little concerned, sweat glistening on his brow.

Asuma nodded a bit. "I'm alright Shikamaru... just had a little food poisoning..." He gave him a goofy smile as Shikamaru hoisted his other arm around his shoulders, shaking his head, and they began across the bridge. Beneath the navy blue mask a frown appeared. There was something wrong... the deja-vu feeling was hitting harder than ever before... and he still couldn't put his finger on what it was. "Maybe it's the bridge..." he thought as he passed Anko, her tan trench-coat flapping mildly in the mountain breeze.

"Tread carefully..." Anko warned, "this bridge is at least 300 years old..."

CREEEEAAAAKKKKKKKKK...

The bridge protested every footstep in a loud noisy whine, as the band advanced across it, the noise turning into a chorus of creaks. Shikamaru had taken over helping Asuma, although he was feeling a little better, which made Kakashi happier than ever considering the combination of his eye twitching madly and the sheer height of the bridge were taking their toll. Kakashi tried to keep steady, holding tightly onto the rope guidelines as he advanced across. He ended up lagging behind even Anko as he tried to maintain his balance. He personally had nothing against the bridge... but his eye and gut did.

The bridge began to sway, as a rather large gust pushed through the valley below. Sakura, Ino and Hinata emitted high-pitched shrieks and the boys grunted "Whoa!" 's wide-eyed and gripping the railing.

"It's ok guys!" Anko reassured them, although she looked a bit nervous herself. "It's just a light wind! Nothing to be worried about! Keep moving so we can get off----

SNAP! SNAP!

The special jounin's words were cut off by two loud snaps and Kakashi felt the railings start to slack in his leather gloves. His eye went wide and in a split second several thoughts raced through his head. The bridge had snapped and he had to get off!

Several loud screams emitted from behind him as he quickly turned around running the way he came but found that pressure on the wooden boards beneath his feet was becoming increasingly less and he ended up snatching one of the boards in his hand. The bridge taught, and he realized now he was grabbing with both hands as he found a large weight attached to his left foot. He looked down... and saw something undescribable.

"It's a dream... it's a dream... it's a dream..." he frantically whispered to himself, clinging onto the remains of the bridge for dear life, shutting both of his eyes tightly, hurting his head from the pressure. It had to be a dream! He didn't just see... that... all those people... tumbling in the air like rocks...

"Kakashi... "

He heard a voice from below, whoever was clinging to his leg. It wasn't real though. This was a dream! It had to be... it couldn't be real... just a dream right? Yeah that's it---

"KAKASHI GET A GRIP!" Anko shouted clinging to his left leg. "You can grieve later! Right now we need to get up to the edge or we're just as dead as them!"

He snapped out of it, tears turning his headband and mask an even darker blue as he looked down trembling at the violet-haired kunoichi. He realized he was supporting a chain. Asuma, Shikamaru, Naruto, Hinata and Chouji all clung to each other's legs in a chain leading up to him. They were all that had survived...

Get a grip was right. He nodded to Anko and reached his right hand toward the next highest plank...

"CREEEEAAAKKK... SNAP!"

The plank snapped in half in his hand! He scrambled to grab another one, his fingertips scraping the edge of the cliff... but to no avail. The seven shinobi let out matching screams in terror as they plummeted toward the ever-growing ground, bodies accelerating from the sheer gravity...

Kakashi let out a small cry about 10 feet from the ground and shut his eye tightly, surrounding himself in the darkness once more...

(Wednesday, 11:06 A.M.)

"--ka-hi..."

"Ka-ash-..."

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

"Ooof!" The jounin let out a groan as he sat up. "Ohhh... my head..." He ran his gloved right hand through the silver tuft that was his scalp, feeling a good-sized bump. That was going to sting for a while... wait... he looked up into the faces of Naruto, Asuma and Anko in bewilderment. What was going on?

"Oh good! I knew he'd wake up if I jumped on him!"

The blond genin jumped off Kakashi's chest as he stood up. Asuma grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet as Anko gave him a stern glare.

He was shaking. Was it a dream? NO! It was all happening! Just like it had before...

"You ok there Kakashi?" Asuma gave him a worried look through his dark hazel eyes, cigarette askew, once again looking like a concerned mother...

He ran his hands over his vest... ALIVE! HE WAS ALIVE! The bridge had never collapsed! But.. but... why was everyone saying the same thing?!

Kakashi yanked away from Asuma and looked at them all with a crazed stare.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"


	4. Chapter 4: A Crossing

**Chapter 4**

(Wednesday, 11:08 A.M.)

Asuma blinked sweat out of his eyes, hurriedly wiping it out with the top of his right hand as he stared at Kakashi, mouth agape. Had he gone psychotic? No.. it must have been from that fall...

"Kakashi... calm down... you just had a rough fall..."

"What the HELL is wrong with YOU?!" Anko shouted in anger, her violet hair standing up a bit like an upset feline. "Hatake, I understand you've just had a nasty trip but that's no reason to stand up and scream like a maniac!"

Kakashi seemed to be ignoring the remarks of both jounin and looking for something, eyes darting back and forth. Mumbling incoherent words as his gaze finally rested on Anko's canteen.

"Rotten milk... rotten milk..." he muttered, snatching the canteen and quickly unscrewing the bottle.

"Rotten milk?! Why the hell would I have tha---"

Anko words stopped in her throat as she viewed upon the contents of her canteen, slowly surging out of the plastic shell... white frothy liquid dumped slowly out turning the tan dust a dark brown. How had he known? Unless...

"Oh...OH really funny Hatake! We're supposed to be setting an example for these children and you come up with this shit of sabotaging my canteen?!"

Naruto slowly looked up, guilt filling his innards as if he had drank the contents of the now empty, but ruined, canteen itself. "I... I filled the canteen Anko-san..." his blue eyes stared directly at the ground as she swept her gaze toward him.

"It figures. Uzumaki this is your last warning! Any more mischief from you and I'll send you right back to Konoha! Now, I'm going to gather up the rest of the group. We've got a long walk ahead of us and we haven't even crossed the bridge---"

"NO!"

All eyes swept toward Kakashi again, his eyes once again taking on a crazed look.

"I'm not crossing that bridge! None of us are! It's a deathtrap!"

Several genin, hearing the word "death" looked over toward the small group with fearful glances. Kurenai looked up, reassured some in the group, and jogged over toward the gathering. She walked quickly up, latching onto Asuma's bicep as she took a sharp glance at Kakashi and then toward Anko.

"What's going on?" She asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

Asuma tossed out his used cigarette and responded with "Kakashi bumped his head... he seems to be having delusions about everyone dying and---"

"THEY'RE NOT DELUSIONS! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" The silver-haired jounin erupted, tears welling in the corner of his eye. "I SAW IT! I FELT IT! THE BOARDS OF THE BRIDGE, THE WIND HOWLING... AND... and... all of you screaming... IT WAS REAL!"

"Real FAKE!" Anko retaliated. "Kakashi it was a HALLUCINATION! You fell and hit your head!" She walked up to Kakashi, face to face inches from the navy blue fabric which hid his, eye to eye, and spoke through gritted teeth. "I will NOT tolerate you jeopardizing this mission because of some delusion you had! You are frightening the genin with your wild outbursts and I swear Hatake, I know you want to be here, but if this keeps up I WILL send you home."

She then turned on her heel, bustling off to gather the now wide-eyed group. Kurenai patted Asuma on the back and whispered "Help him steady himself ok? I'm going to help Anko with the others..." She then followed suit.

As Naruto stared down at the dirt contemplating how to handle the situation, the bearded jounin walked up to the trembling frame of his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm tellin' you man..."

"...that time of the month?" Kakashi finished Asuma's sentence before he could utter out the words, leaving Asuma a bit befuddled.

"Kakashi..."

"I saw it Asuma. I know it's true... if we cross that bridge it means death..."

"A-are you sure Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto looked up at his sensei with a flicker of fright in his eyes, his lip quivering a bit from worry and the shock of seeing his teacher in such as state.

"Yes Naruto." He nodded curtly, "Asuma you have to stop Anko. You can't let any of them cross that bridge." He looked toward Asuma, his brown eye gleaming a bit in the sun.

The jounin still wasn't convinced. "Kakashi, I can't stop her and neither should you... it was just a dream you've got to understan---"

"Dammit Asuma then I'll stop her!" He sat up quickly taking long strides toward the group. Asuma and Naruto followed quickly, both frightened of what the silver-haired jounin was about to do.

Anko was helping Hinata adjust her backpack and casually looked over her shoulder. "Oi Kakashi, you finally come to your senses then?"

"I've had my senses all along," Kakashi retorted, his Sharingan twitching more and more as each second passed, " and they all point toward not crossing that bridge! I won't allow you to lead this group to it's death!"

Anko fastened the last buckle and stood up to face him, dusting off parts of her tan trench coat. "Kakashi, I've warned you already and I'm warning you again. If you keep sticking to this RIDICULOUS story---"

"FINE! SEND ME HOME!!! ALL I ASK IS FOR YOU NOT TO CROSS THAT BRIDGE!!!"

Naruto took his Sensei's hand and lead him away from the group toward a group of rocks.

"Alright that's it." She shifted her gaze to Kurenai, who was helping Kiba gather his things. "Kurenai! I want you to escort Kakashi back to the village. Perhaps Tsunade can cure him of these INSANE DELUSIONS!" She turned screaming the last words with emphasis, fists clenched at her sides.

Kurenai's eyes went wide, her large crimson pupils filling with worry. She stood up quickly and walked over to the group. "An-Anko-san! This is probably the last time I can go on a mission like this before---" she cast a nervous glance at Asuma, a confused expression on his face. "... before I take a vacation. Please Anko, I've been looking forward to this for ages!"

Anko opened her mouth in response "Kurenai, I've had---"

"I'll take him."

Anko looked to the source of the voice and was met by the gaze of Asuma, scratching his beard non-chalantly. He put a large hand on Kurenai's shoulder and nodded solemnly to Anko.

Anko pondered it for a moment, and then curtly nodded. She walked off to gather the others as Kurenai's expression turned to bewilderment as she turned to Asuma.

"Asuma-san... you didn't have to do that! Anko assigned me to go! I know you've been looking forward to this trip as much as me but..."

"Kurenai it's ok." He ran a hand through her wavy ebony hair and met her gaze. "You've been wanting to go more than me and Kakashi needs help... I don't know if it's the anniversary of Obito or something else... but he needs me right now."

"B-but Asuma I---"

"No. It's ok Kurenai... you go." he gave her a smile. "You can't sacrifice all of our students to the wrath of Anko can you?" He winked, jokingly as she gave him a slug in the arm.

"Alright... I'll go." She leaned on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "When I get back... I'd like to take you out to dinner Asuma-san... there's some important things we need to discuss."

Asuma nodded. "Ok. I'd like that." He gave her a smile. She grasped his fingers for a few moments more, then jogged back toward the group. She turned yelling over her shoulder "I'll wave to you when we cross the bridge!"

Asuma laughed. "Ok! I'll wave back!"

Kurenai nodded. "See you on the other side!" she smiled and once again helped Kiba who had dumped the contents of his backpack on the ground by accident.

------------------------

Naruto lead his sensei by the hand away from the angry Anko as Kurenai and Asuma had what seemed to be a private conversation. He sat Kakashi down on a rock and looked him in the eye. Kakashi seemed to be in a sort of awed shock, his eye glazed over, lost in thought. The genin noticed the fabric covering his left eye twitching madly.

"Ka-Kakashi-Sensei... is it true? Is everyone who crosses that bridge going to die?"

Kakashi nodded, his stare unwavering. "I... I have to stop them Naruto."

"Maybe you just bumped your head a little hard Kakashi-Sensei... it could have been a nightmare... just a bad dream..."

_"Give it baaaaacccckkk..."_

Kakashi shook the rotting undead image of Obito out of his mind as he gazed up at Naruto's whiskered face. "No... it wasn't a nightmare. Trust me. I know the difference."

Naruto gulped and sat beside his teacher. "Kakashi-Sensei I believe you. I'll stay behind with you ok?"

Kakashi snorted. "You just want to get out of another assignment."

Naruto laughed. "Well maybe..."

A shadow fell over the two of them. Kakashi looked up at a bearded silhouette. "Did you stop them Asuma?"

Asuma shook his head. "No, I'm supposed to escort you back to the village Kakashi..."

Kakashi stood up quickly. "No Asuma! We have to stop them! I--" he paused for a moment and found he was unable to move. "Wh-what is this?!"

"How long should I hold him Sensei?" Shikamaru stood a few feet away, his and Kakashi's shadows connected, freezing Kakashi in place. Chouji stood behind Shikamaru, a solemn expression on his face.

Kakashi looked at Asuma with a look of betrayal. "Asuma what the HELL IS THIS?!"

The bearded jounin responded with a sad look filling his deep hazel eyes. "I-I'm sorry Kakashi. Anko thinks it's a combination of that bump on your head and the anniversary and all... and we know you won't go back by choice so I have to use force..."

"DON'T YOU GET IT?! WHY WON'T ANY OF YOU LISTEN TO ME?! IF YOU CROSS THAT BRIDGE YOU WILL DIE!!! PLEASE DON'T GO!!!" he cried feebly as he watched the last of the group move around the ridge toward the crossing, leaving Kakashi, Asuma, Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji alone.

-------------------------

Kurenai walked with Anko toward the rickety bridge. Normally she would have felt edgy about it anyway, and after Kakashi's outburst she was even more nervous... what if he was right? She looked sideways at Anko who had a stern look on her face, as if she were trying to convince herself also.

She watched as Sasuke took the lead of the group, Sakura and Ino taking pursuit both trying to walk next to him. Shino and Kiba following close behind casting glares in Sasuke's direction and Hinata trailing behind, casting nervous glances back toward the ridge...

No...

Kakashi couldn't be correct... it was just the stress from Obito's death and that nasty fall. Tsunade could fix him up alright and then perhaps Asuma-san could catch up. Perhaps she could tell him about her big news. The fact that the two of them would soon be--

"Kurenai-Sensei..."

Hinata's voice, soft as a chime bell, brought Kurenai back from her thoughts like a gentle alarm clock. She looked down at the young genin and smiled. "Yes Hinata-chan?"

"I... I don't feel so good. I really want to go home. Can I head back with the other group?"

Kurenai let out a deep sigh. What did it matter now? Half the group was heading back anyway.

"It's ok Kurenai." Anko looked at her smiling. "I'll take Ms. Hyuuga back to the other group. Could you make sure these guys don't cause too much trouble as they cross? I'll catch up in a moment."

Kurenai nodded. "Yes Anko-san. Feel better Hinata ok?"

Hinata nodded with a bit of a frightened look on her face. "P-Please be safe Kurenai-Sensei."

-----------------------------

"DAMN YOU ASUMA! CALL SHIKAMARU OFF!"

Kakashi struggled to move from the jutsu but it was no use. Why didn't they understand?! He'd seen them die... all of them. He had to stop it! He tried to move again but to no avail...

"Kakashi I..." Asuma paused. He felt an odd cool breeze blow across the back of his neck, giving him goosebumps down his spine... "I..."

"You feel it don't you?" Kakashi looked at each person in the group, their eyes widening a bit. "It's here... that's how you know. That's why you stopped. Now let me go so I can stop them!"

"Shikamaru... let him go..."

"Asuma-Sensei...?"

"Do it."

Kakashi could move again and started sprinting toward the group crossing the bridge, but was stopped abruptly as he crashed into Anko, both of them tumbling toward the ground. Asuma and the others followed suit, but stopped at this inconvenience.

"HATAKE ARE YOU TRYING TO MURDER ME TODAY?!" Anko screamed, pulling herself out of the entangled mass of limbs.

The silver-haired jounin stood up quickly. "NO I'M DOING THE OPPOSITE! YOU HAVE TO STOP THEM ANKO!!!"

Hinata held her hands up to her face, looking at Naruto who gave her a worried glance.

Anko dusted herself off and grabbed Kakashi by his shoulders. "KAKASHI THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO WOR--"

"SNAP!!!"

Six head's turned quickly toward the bridge, as it snapped. Screams of pure terror were heard as the group of shinobi plunged to their deaths. Six eyes went wide in horror, mouths agape. Six people stood in disbelief...

One person fell to the ground, fingerless black gloves covering what parts of his face were visible as he erupted in sobs, his Sharingan eye twitching madly as if a wild rabbit had taken homestead inside of it. One person screamed in agony from his failure to save his now fallen comrades...


	5. Chapter 5: A Beginning

**Chapter 5**

_"Now... Kakashi... you will give it baaacck..." _

_An evil grimace crossed Obito's face as he pulled a rusty dented kunai from behind his back and leaned closer to Kakashi..._

_"Obito... no... please... why?" Tears rolled down his cheek from his own eye, as the Sharingan remained inactive. _

_Obito's only response was the grimace as he leaned the tip of the kunai toward the bottom of Kakashi's eye socket and the world was enveloped in black..._

(Saturday, 8:43 A.M.)

"GAHHH!!!"

Kakashi sat up quickly, his face displaying an expression of frightened shock, sweat pouring down his forehead. Quick gasps echoed through his apartment as his mind slowly recollected itself, pulling him out of the dream-state.

It was a dream...

"Was it all just a bad dream?" Kakashi whispered to himself, his heart slowly resuming it's correct pace. He was answered with a soft grunt and a rustle of blankets. The jounin gazed over the edge of the bed staring down at his new resident, one Naruto Uzumaki, asleep in his own pile of blankets softly snoring.

It was good to see him sleeping. The genin hadn't slept the last three nights, but he tried his best not to let his sensei notice, keeping his sobs as quiet as possible. Of course Kakashi had noticed anyway and had expected it when the blond had asked him if he could stay at his apartment for a while. The jounin had told him he could stay as long as he wanted, he needed company himself anyway after... after...

His muscular structure tilted forward, face buried his hands, silver strands tickling his knuckles. Six people gone... six people that should be living. That he could have saved.

Ino... Shino... Kiba... Kurenai...

Sasuke and Sakura... his own students. Dead.

He felt he had failed them. Failed them just like Obito, so long ago. Let them walk blindly toward the bridge and plummet to their deaths, and now they were gone. Just as dead as Obito... another Uchiha's blood on his hands...

Kakashi moved the heels of his palms upward rubbing his eyes, making them shine with tear-fluid in the early morning sun, the covers on his bedspread laid out haphazardly across the bottom-half of his frame.

"Kakashi-Sensei?"

He jumped with a start at his name being called and looked away from Naruto who was now peeping at him over the edge of the bed, his blond hair resembling a tangled bushel of hay in the sunlight.

Quickly rubbing the tears from his eyes and giving a rather loud sniff, Kakashi responded with a jumble of words, his voice cracking a bit after hours of not being used in his sleep.

"Y-yes Naruto, sorry if I woke you up. I just like to stretch in the morning you know! Get the kinks out..." Very much exaggerating, he spread his arms in the air imitating a yawn.

Naruto gave him a wavering smile, fully knowing his sensei was crying a few moments before, and decided to change the subject.

"So uhhh... you got anything to eat around here? The funeral is in about 3 hours and I need some energy..."

"Hmmm... oh! Oh! Yeah! I have some cereal... or I could make us some pancakes before we leave?"

Naruto nodded and licked his lips at the pancake idea. He stood up, clothed in a black t-shirt with a swirl on it, and pair of knee-length orange shorts, and stumbled over to the counter top taking a seat on one of Kakashi's stools. Kakashi tossed his sheets aside and gained his walk back as he walked to the other side of it, pulling out a pan, a mixing bowl and several essential ingredients.

As Kakashi mixed the correct ingredients and Naruto sat on the stool, their smiles waned melting off their faces like heated up wax and quickly formed back into the reserved gloomy expressions they had come accustomed to over the last several days. As Kakashi poured the white batter into the pan filled with golden-yellow melted butter, Naruto laughed a bit causing him to look up.

"What?" He asked, a little puzzled by this small outburst.

"Well it's just, I've seen your true face over the last couple of days and haven't really noticed until now."

He gave Naruto a quizzical look and replied with a smirk. "I don't like people seeing my face much... too much history behind it." He looked down at the pancake batter, bubbling from the heat.

Naruto laughed a bit more. "Yeah I've noticed. I remember that one time I wanted to see it so bad! Me and Sasuke and Saku--.." He stopped, quickly looking down at his hands. For a few minutes the only sounds in the apartment were the sizzling of the pancake and the wet flop when Kakashi turned it over.

"I... remember that too Naruto." the jounin responded after a few minutes, using a spatula to place the pancake on a plate and dousing it in maple syrup and melted butter. He placed a fork on the plate and set it in front of Naruto, who looked at it glumly for a few moments and then started eating it.

"I'm not much of a looker anyway." He said smiling at Naruto who looked up with a small hint of laughter in his deep blue eyes.

"It's good to see you smile, sensei."

-------------------

(Saturday, 2:14 P.M.)

White rectangles played across the green grass as the clouds shifted and the afternoon sun appeared. The rectangles were reflecting the sunlight from a source of six picture frames placed on a table laden with white roses placed across a black tablecloth. The pictures showed the smiling faces of three females and three males, all smiling for the camera (save for Sasuke and Shino). Faces that would never smile again...

The funeral had been enormous, as the entire village of Konoha had shown up. It had been the biggest turnout since the Third Hokage was assassinated by Orochimaru. All clothed in funeral garb, funeral patrons had all resembled a sea of black, but instead of the sound of seagulls and waves crashing it was the sound of crying that was heard. Mourning... so much mourning...

Kakashi's silver-hair had poked out of the crowd like a beacon but he had only sat with Naruto. The others had each other and their own things to deal with.

Hinata was at a complete loss as her entire team had been victim of the tragedy. She sat crying into her dad's sleeve during the entire procession, her father rubbing the back of her head in comfort which was very unlike his usual actions.

Chouji and Shikamaru sat on either side of Asuma who's stare was vacant, his light hazel eyes not showing half the light they had before. Asuma had stared directly forward for the entire proceeding and then had walked out without saying a word, stiff as a zombie.

Then there was Anko. She had sat near the front, constantly clutching a tissue and occasionally casting glances back at Kakashi who, when he met her gaze, would turn quickly away. She seemed rather nervous and fidgety and had attempted to converse with him when the funeral was over, minutes before. She had opened her mouth to say something, closed it and walked quickly away leaving both Naruto and himself in confusion.

Now the funeral was over.Yet, Kakashi and Naruto stood staring silently at the six pictures, the wind moving his silver hair about to it's own accord. The jounins' eye twitched a bit from the sunlight as he stared, his Sharingan giving a slight twitch underneath the dark blue fabric. It had not stopped completely twitching since that day, but it had weakened a lot since then. He figured it would probably end at the funeral. It was the "end" after all right?

A long sigh escaped his lips and Naruto looked up, the white parts of his eyes a tired pink from crying and lack of sleep. Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Why Kakashi-Sensei?" he asked with a quivering voice, his eyes once again filling with tears "Wh-why did they have to die? What did they ever d-do..?" He buried his face in the jounin's black vest, causing it to dampen, his sobs muffled by the heavy fabric.

Kakashi answered slowly, trying himself not to erupt into tears.

"Naruto... sometimes... it's your time to go. Everybody dies. It's a part of life..." he sighed a bit regaining himself, rubbing the back of the young genin's head. "Losing a loved one sometimes is just as hard... or... a teammate."

"It's n-not fair sensei..." Naruto replied, his voice still muffled by the jacket.

"No Naruto, it never is..."

----------------------------

(Saturday, 6:18 P.M.)

_"No, Tiffany, please don't leave me this way!" Reginald clung to the hem of her red dress as she attempted to leave the bedroom, clutching her purse, her cleavage exposed a bit more. "I can't take this anymore Reggie! Every other night I find you with some new woman in our house..." a worried expression crossed his face, "Please baby! It won't ever happen again! I love you and only you... I was just confused before." He held her shoulders, staring her in the eyes. "You're the only one for me..." "Oh Reggie!" she exclaimed, tossing her purse to the floor and embracing him in a long passionate kiss. They both fell onto the bed, as Reginald fiddled with the clasp of her bra, exposing her---"_

"DING-DONG"

Kakashi jumped, grumbling a bit as his doorbell rang. He hated the way people interrupted his reading exactly at crucial moments such as these. He stood up, placing his book face down on the covers and padded across Naruto who was sprawled out on Kakashi's cream-colored carpet, toward the door.

Naruto looked up and tilted his head to the side wondering who it was, his fingers holding a place on chapter three of Icha-Icha Paradise, the first edition. There wasn't much to read in Kakashi's apartment so he had decided to see what thrilled his sensei so much about Ero-Sannin's books. Kakashi had happily picked out the first volume and shoved the orange copy into his hands. He had been reading ever since. Anything to keep his mind off of... he let out a small sigh as he heard the jounin's wooden entry door open with a creak.

Kakashi stared down at a young genin in green spandex. Lee looked up at him with a sort of sad smile.

"Is Naruto here?" he asked nervously.

Kakashi nodded and looked sideways "Naruto! Someone wants to see you!"

After a few moments, the blond's head poked out the doorway.

"'Lo Lee..." he responded, a small smile flitted over his glum expression.

"Hello Naruto! I was wondering if you'd like to go with Neji, Tenten and I to the movies? We have an extra ticket and Hinata is coming too... we're trying to cheer her up."

Naruto's face lit up a bit at the sound of Hinata's name but then fell again. He was too depressed to do something like that at the moment...

"I..."

"He'd love to go." Kakashi quickly interjected.

Naruto gave his sensei a look of disbelief. Kakashi quickly responded.

"Naruto, if there's anything I've learned from loss it's that you have to keep on living. You need this. Go have some fun with your friends ok?"

Naruto gave him a sad expression for a moment but then nodded. "Ok Lee, let's go."

"Don't sound so excited!" Lee said with a bit of a laugh.

Naruto laughed too and they both exited down the hall toward the elevator.

Kakashi closed the door, and went back to sprawl on his bed. He ignored his Sharingan twitching and tried to push the heaping pile of paperwork off the desk that was his mind, as he distracted himself with the latest installment of the Icha-Icha series. Jiraiya had given him this copy early considering his loss. He wouldn't have accepted it, but at the moment he was grasping at any possible distraction. He turned his book over from it's face down position, got comfortable and was just about to scan over the next sentence when...

"DING-DONG"

He let out another groan, rubbing his hand through his silver hair as he walked quickly across the carpet toward the door, nearly tripping over Naruto's blanket. Had Naruto forgotten something? Probably... he rolled his eyes turning the doorknob and swiftly pulled it open.

"So what'd you forg--"

His words stopped in his throat and hung in the air like a dying arachnid.

"Oh... it's you."

Anko shifted uncomfortably on Kakashi's doorstep, her right hand moving up and down her left arm, violet eyes maintaining their downward gaze.

"Yeah... it's me. Could I come in?"

The jounin nodded opening the door and sweeping an arm inward. "Be my guest."

She walked in slowly, her violet hair shifting in the draft as Kakashi shut the door. She then took a seat on his dilapidated couch and averted her gaze toward the bedding on the floor.

"You don't clean up much do you?"

Kakashi leaned against the counter. "I hardly think you're here to insult me on my housekeeping."

Anko nodded, her hands at her sides.

"Listen, Hata--... Kakashi. I just... I wanted to apologize..."

"Oh?" he took a seat on one of the stools. "About what? The fact that you totally ignored my intuition? The fact that you were so stubborn you wouldn't give my insight the time of day, resulting in the deaths of six shinobi? Or was it the fact that you have blatantly ignored me for the past few days, not saying a word and treating me like some disease?"

Anko's face took on a hurt expression.

"I just---"

"You just what?! They're all dead now and--"

"I KNOW THEY'RE DEAD! I BLAME MYSELF FOR IT EVERY DAMN DAY KAKASHI! EVERY SECOND IS A LIVING HELL FOR ME BECAUSE OF THAT GUILT!"

She erupted into wracking sobs, burying her face in her brown sleeves. The jounin was taken aback by this sudden outburst of emotion. He had never seen Anko show anything other than anger... he had been very harsh. How could she have known his visions were the truth? He supposed it would sound pretty far fetched to him if he weren't himself anyway...

Kakashi stood up, walking over to the couch and pulling Anko into a tight embrace, getting cried on for the second time that day.

"It's ok Anko... I forgive you. You didn't know. None of us did..."

"You d-did and I st-stopped you."

"Yeah but my story did seem far fetched... don't blame yourself for this..." he rubbed his hand through her violet hair as she sobbed into his jacket.

After a few minutes, Anko pulled herself away from the embrace quickly grabbing a tissue out of her pocket sniffling into it.

Kakashi sat up and after a few minutes of silence he talked in a soothing voice, holding both of her hands in his.

"It's over now though. Has been for three days. We can't do anything about it now except remember them in our fondest of memories. At least seven of us got away, it could have been much worse."

"Th-that's just it Kakashi..."

"What?"

"You're wrong."

"About what?"

"It's not over..."

Kakashi looked at her with a bewildered expression on his face. "Please elaborate..."

"I... I don't know. Ever since that day... I've had this weird feeling. Like... like I don't belong. Something isn't right."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, a bit of a waver in his voice.

"I don't know what I mean... I feel like a doe... with a tiger in the bushes. I know it's there, but I don't know when it's going to strike..." She released his hands and used the tissue to wipe her face. "I... I think I'm going to go. I'm sorry I bothered you Kakashi..." She quickly stood up and headed toward the door.

He walked her to the door, opening it as she stepped out.

"Anko..."

She turned around, looking him in the eye. "Yeah?"

"Don't worry so much. I'm sure it's all in your head ok? You can come over anytime you feel uneasy." He gave her a small smile with his eyes and she nodded gratefully.

"Thank you..." She turned and headed toward the elevator as Kakashi stared after her.

He had lied of course. He had felt that same feeling she had explained down to the very "t" the last couple of days... what did it all mean? Was this not the end but really just the beginning of more things to come?

Goosebumps covered his bare forearms, and as he closed the door a small breeze caressed the back of his neck. Somehow he figured, it wasn't the draft. His gaze fell on the objects of his house cast in an orange hue caused by the setting sun, his Sharingan twitching even more. The jounin sat down on his bed contemplating the day, and found himself asking a question out loud breaking the silence.

"What's next?"


	6. Chapter 6: A Night At The Movies

**Chapter 6**

(Saturday, 6:52 P.M.)

"Awwww Shikamaru do we REALLY have to go?"

Chouji Akamichi's whine echoed through Asuma Sarutobi's apartment as Shikamaru hurried around the apartment, turning on several lamp lights.

"Yes Chouji, I told Lee we'd be there by 7:00! We have about eight minutes to show up and I'm not even completely ready yet."

Chouji let out a long sigh and slumped into one of Asuma's armchairs, his arms hanging off both of the armrests, face displaying a look of pure boredom and annoyance. Why did they have to go to a movie so soon after this... tragedy? Besides, why waste your money on a movie when you could spend it on more important things? Like food...

"Yeah but Shikamaru, I don't know if it's a good time to leave... Asuma-Sensei is still..."

"Still what?" The bearded jounin stalked into the living room, his normally slicked back, black spiky hair a tangled mess, eyes a tired pink. He laid back on the couch offering a lazy gaze at Chouji. Shikamaru gave a wide-eyed look at the genin, who quickly bumbled for an answer to Asuma's question.

"Still... still as wonderful as sensei as ever!" he quickly replied, plastering a fake smile on his face.

"Mmm.." Asuma grunted, lost in his own thoughts again and staring out the window at the darkening sky.

Shikamaru nodded carefully at Chouji as he relaxed back into the armchair letting out a little sigh of relief. That had been close! He breathed in for a moment letting the air slowly fill his lungs and was surprised that it was missing that usual acrid hint of tobacco. Although he shouldn't have been. His sensei hadn't picked up a cigarette in days...

"Chouji it's time to go. Lee will be angry if he has to miss the beginning of the movie because of tardiness... he'll probably make a crack about Kakashi-Sens---"

"DON'T mention THAT name in MY house..." Asuma suddenly said in an outburst through gritted teeth, his eyes taking on a wild look.

"R-right... sorry Asuma-Sensei. C'mon Chouji..."

Chouji nodded, eyes wide as he wrapped his scarf around his neck. They both said farewell to Asuma who replied with an annoyed grunt as Shikamaru shut and locked the door.

"What was THAT about?" Chouji inquired angrily as they both walked down the hallway toward the elevator.

"It's simple really Chouji. He blames Kakashi for the deaths of Ino and Kurenai-Sensei..." he pushed the button for "DOWN", the button lighting up and the soft whir of the elevator motor reverberating from the two metal doors.

"But didn't Kakashi WARN us about the bridge? Shouldn't he be more angered with Anko-Sensei than Kakashi-Sensei?"

"No Chouji... here let me explain..."

DING!

The two doors slid open and they both stepped inside, Chouji pressed the button displaying the number "1" and turned to Shikamaru as the doors slid shut once more. "Ok, explain." his brown eyes filled with interest.

"It's like this Chouji, Asuma-Sensei feels that Kakashi _knew_ that they were going to die but didn't do everything he could to stop them. He's also frightened because Kakashi was actually right about it... then there's the whole grief problem over Ino and Kurenai... he needs someone to blame and Kakashi's the "lucky candidate"." Shikamaru shrugged giving a glum expression.

Chouji's face gained an annoyed look as he folded his arms.

"Well that's not very fair... Kakashi was trying EVERYTHING to stop all of us. Remember?"

"Of course I do." Shikamaru mirrored Chouji's annoyed look. "I'm not saying I agree with him! I'm just saying that's how he feels and why he feels it..."

Chouji nodded, his face relaxing a bit.

"That makes a lot more sen--"

RRMRRRMMBBMMBRRRMM...

The lights in the elevator flickered a bit as the elevator gave a violent shudder. Shikamaru and Chouji placed their hand against the walls bracing themselves, both with wide-eyed frightened expressions on their faces. The elevator came to a halt for a second and they were enveloped in darkness, only their quickened gasps could be heard over their racing hearts.

"Wh-what's going on Shikamaru...?"

"I...I don't know Chouji... the elevator must have malfunctioned..."

They both waited a few moments more in the darkness, not daring to move... when the elevator suddenly started up again. The lights came back to life again causing them both to squint. They stayed stationary until the elevator finally reached it's destination. Both doors slid open with the familiar "DING!" and the two boys tumbled out of the elevator, glaring at the innocently closing doors.

"DAMN ELEVATOR! I'M GOING TO GO COMPLAIN TO THE MANAGEMENT RIGHT NOW!"

Chouji turned, his face red with anger, as he stomped in the direction he figured the management office was until he was suddenly yanked back. He plopped backwards on his butt and turned angrily toward Shikamaru, who was holding a trailing end of his scarf.

"NOW WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

Shikamaru let out a laugh throwing the end of the scarf into Chouji's face and helping his friend to his feet.

"We can't go to the management office, we've only got about 3 more minutes until the movie starts! Plus do you know how much trouble Asuma-Sensei will get into if the management office finds out we're living in with him for a while?"

Chouji grunted yanking his hands out of Shikamaru's grip and dusting himself off.

"Well, it was Tsunade's idea we even stay with him! Can't she pull some strings or something?"

The genin started walking angrily toward the exit doors. Shikamaru laughed a bit at his friends angry expression and followed.

"Well I suppose we can talk to them later then! Come on we're gonna be late!" He grabbed Chouji's scarf like a leash and pulled him a long as if he were a big lumbering dog.

Chouji yanked it out of his hand, grumbling, and walked at his own pace.

"What is this stupid movie anyway?" he asked, breathing in the cool night air.

Shikamaru laughed a bit kicking a pebble off of the sidewalk.

"It's a horror movie of all things! Probably with a romantic interest put in there too."

"Ino would've liked that..." Chouji muttered, his head down.

"Yeah... she would've."

They walked in silence for a moment, the sounds of crickets emitting from the bushes as they made their way to the movie theater. Chouji let out a small laugh causing Shikamaru to glance sideways.

"What?" he asked, a smile growing slowly on his face.

"As if I don't have enough horror in my life after the bridge and that damn elevator!"

Shikamaru laughed loudly, "Seriously..."

Chouji snorted. "Yeah... next time I'm taking the stairs!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Saturday, 7:04 P.M.)

Naruto's blue eyes filled with worry as he watched Lee's expression take on a concerned look. The five of them stood outside of the movie theater waiting for Shikamaru and Chouji to show up. He let out a sigh and turned to Lee. 

"You told them it was at 7:00 right?"

Lee nodded silently and Naruto turned around looking at the poster for the movie. It was rated R, but as they were all shinobi they were all allowed to view it. After all, what was a movie compared to the horrors they had to endure daily anyway? Neji and Tenten were trying to console Hinata as she quietly sobbed into Neji's shoulder. Naruto looked downward for a moment. She had it worse than him, she hadn't only lost two teammates, but her sensei too...

"There you are!" Lee exclaimed, causing Naruto to look up.

Shikamaru and Chouji walked slowly toward the group. Hinata's sobs stopped as she looked at the both of them, her hands clutching the fabric of Neji's shirt, her eyes glistening in the blinking lights of the sign advertising their movie: "STAIR OF THE DEMON".

"The movie started 5 minutes ago! We've got to hurry or we're going to miss it!"

Naruto nodded and followed after him as he rushed through the entrance.

Shikamaru chuckled a bit as they entered the revolving doors.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked as they headed toward the ticket counter.

"They spelled "stare" wrong. This movie should be good... pfftt..."

The seven of them purchased their tickets and headed toward the viewing room. They entered through the swinging red doors and took seats in about the middle row, plopping themselves down in the plush blue chairs.

"I... I shouldn't be here..." Hinata uttered out sadly, her hand clutching the hem of her coat as she stared at her knees.

"Why not?" Naruto asked, his gaze falling onto her trembling form.

"I... I'll just cause trouble... I'm so messed up..." a small sob escaped her lips, her black bangs hiding her tearful eyes. "I just... I can't deal with this..."

Naruto let out a sigh and took her right hand in his left. Hinata's face turned a light pink as she turned to him, meeting his gaze.

"Hinata... I almost lost everyone too. Sasuke and Sakura..." he stopped for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a small breath. "Sasuke and Sakura were my two best friends... I'm sure you felt that way about Kiba and Shino too... but we have to keep on living. We have to do it for them. Be strong for them..."

Hinata nodded, staring at her knees again. Her grip tightened on Naruto's hand and his face grew a small smile.

"So let's watch this movie with our friends... and be thankful we can. Yeah?"

Hinata met his gaze once more and nodded again.

"Th.. Thank you Naruto-kun."

-------------------------------------------------------------

(Saturday, 7:57 P.M.)

_"Give it baaaaccckkk..."_

"Shna..Wha?! Gah!"

Kakashi sat up in bed, his book falling off his bare chest. He ran his right hand through his silver hair and let out a long yawn. It had been a nice nap... nice until that damn nightmare had awaken him again. He let out an angry growl casting a glance at his window which now filled his view with a night scape of bright stars, the clouds tinted a bright blue on the tops from the glowing full moon.

Tossing both feet over the side of his bed, the jounin stalked over to wall, fumbling with the light switch. His room was swept with artificial yellow light causing his silver picture frame displaying Team 7 to glint. Clad only in pajama bottoms, Kakashi walked over to the frame and took a good look at it.

He needed to buy a new frame... the glass over Sasuke's face still had a big crack in it... and so did Sakura's? He took a closer look, and indeed, Sakura's face had a crack over it too... how odd. Normally he would have shrugged something like this off... but if felt like it meant something...

"Nah!" he said out loud, laughing. He set the picture frame down and turned around. Anko's talk must have spooked him a bit. Yeah, that was it...

"Guuuuu"

The jounin rubbed his stomach. He hadn't eaten anything since the pancakes that morning.

Kakashi let out a small gasp as his the soles of his feet took in a cold feeling as they transferred from warm carpet to cold tile when he entered the kitchen. He slowly opened the fridge and found nothing that he felt would fulfill his appetite. His face took on a glum expression, and he let out a moan. He needed SOMETHING to eat. He slowly pulled open the door to his pantry...

"WHOO... CRISSSSHHH..."

He watched as a bag of barbecue potato chips fell to the floor, chips scattering all over the tiles, orange dust coating the small rug beneath the sink.

"Uggghh..." he let out a disgusted sigh and began to pick them up, tossing them into the garbage can.

"THUNK"

He paused. What was that sound? He stood up slowly and peeked back into this bedroom.

The picture had fallen again. It lay face-down on the carpet as if mocking him. How had it fallen? He'd put it in the middle of the shelf...

He walked over to it, picking it up again and a surprised look came over his face. It was no longer a picture of Team 7... but a picture of Chouji. Not a smiling cheesy picture either... his face was horrible, bruised and bloody...

The jounin's face took on a look of horror as the frame filled with blood and started overflowing, dripping down and turning his cream carpet a dark maroon color. He dropped it quickly as if he was holding a dead cat and backed up falling onto the bed.

"Kakashi..."

Kakashi turned around, his gaze falling on the undead face of Obito as his Sharingan looked once again upon the vacant hole it had once inhabited. He froze once more, his face once more displaying an expression of terror.

Obito pulled the rusty dented kunai once again out from behind his back, cackling evilly as he advanced toward Kakashi...

- - -

"Gaaaahhh!!!"

Kakashi bolted up in bed again, gasps echoing through his apartment. His expression turned from fright to anger as he tossed his pillow toward the window, burying his face in his hands.

"THUNK"

The jounin's face emerged slowly from within his palms to gaze in horror as he saw the picture had fallen once again. He must have knocked it over with the pillow... just like... that day... he bolted out of bed picking up the picture. There WAS a crack over Sakura's face... he must not have noticed it before. How did the dream know?!

He stalked toward the kitchen to splash some water into his face. The dream had been too much for him to take... it must have been from Anko's talk earlier...

"CRUNCH"

He stopped dead in his tracks, inches from the sink. What had he stepped on? Slowly he raised his foot and stared down at the remnants of a barbecue chip, his foot coated in crumbs and orange dust...

This could only mean...

"Chouji..."

Kakashi rushed toward the window flinging it open, not even bothering to close it, as he dashed toward the movie theater.

-----------------------------------------------

(Saturday, 8:10 P.M.)

Chouji shifted in his seat uncomfortably, letting out a low grumble. How long was this movie anyway? He was sooo hungry...

"Shikamaru..." he whispered, breaking his friend's concentration.

"What? What is it Chouji?" Shikamaru whispered back, a little annoyed.

"Is this movie almost over? I'm starving here..."

"Yeah, it'll be over in about 20 minutes. Shhh..."

"20 minutes?! I can't wait that long..." Chouji whined.

"Go buy some popcorn then. They sell it at the snack bar."

Chouji's eyes lit up. Why hadn't he thought of it before? That's what must have made him hungry in the first place... the smell of butter and salt... ohhhh man. He had to go buy some right then!

"I'll be right back ok?"

Shikamaru nodded, uninterested, as Chouji stood up from his seat and walked up the aisle toward the exit. He opened the doors and walked toward the snack bar. It was surprisingly empty. The workers must have been on break... his brown eyes rose up toward the prices and his mouth dropped in disgust. $5.00 for a large popcorn?! Was this place run by Orochimaru?!

He sighed and leaned against the counter waiting for an employee to return so he could shell out five bucks for overpriced popcorn, when he looked over to the side noticing a door that was ajar. The smell of more popcorn seemed to waft from it as if taunting him. He wondered if there was any in there?

Chouji walked casually toward the door, took two glances from side to side making sure nobody was watching and quickly slipped through the red painted entrance. He was met with cement stairs that led down to a small dimly lit room, a metal banister held in place to make sure the user wouldn't fall.

Chouji's eyes went wide as he gazed upon the golden treasures held inside the room: bags upon bags of popcorn! This must be the popcorn storage! He held onto the wobbly banister as he descended the staircase and ripped open one of the bags digging into the contests, his hands becoming covered with salt and grease as he feasted upon the crunchy kernels. He then grabbed a bucket filling it with free popcorn and laughed to himself. Wait until Shikamaru heard about this!

The genin began climbing the staircase again, his right hand clutching the banister. He was about three steps away from the entrance when he heard voices approaching the door. Eyes going wide he rushed up and leaned toward the banister, so the open door would hide him if anyone entered.

The voices died after a few seconds, must have been a few civilians heading toward the bathroom. He let out a small sigh of relief and spoke aloud.

"That was a close---"

Crrrrreeeaaakk... CRACK!"

The banister Chouji was leaning on snapped off, the pieces tumbling toward the bare cement below. Chouji's arms windmilled for a moment, his bucket of popcorn careening off into the air. He grabbed for the doorknob, but his greasy hands slipped off and he fell backwards making a loud crash onto the hard cement floor, a sharp crack emitting through the room as his skull hit the ground. His brown eyes grew dim.

The back of his head felt wet... was that blood? He asked himself silently as his view was slowly overtaken by a black curtain, the spilled popcorn kernels floating silently in the growing crimson pool...


End file.
